Real. Life. Music. That is what you will hear when you drop the proverbial needle on a Benny Bassett album. With an industry zig-zagging its way across the universe trying to determine how music can survive a global pandemic, Benny has held true to the themes that have sustained him this far. “I think that trends come and go, but if you always stay true to yourself, you will find your audience, and they will stick with you through anything that comes your way,” says Bassett. Over the past six years this philosophy has taken Benny across the world to entertain audiences across North America and Europe.
In his travels Benny has performed with Fitz & The Tantrums, Lifehouse, Third Eye Blind, Sister Hazel, and The Verve Pipe. This year will see Benny reach his 500,000th mile driven since going solo in 2016. His performances have reached festival stages, dive bars, breweries, and living rooms in 46 U.S. states, and seven different countries.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Benny Bassett about the latest jams, surviving the pandemic, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
What You Believe is available for Pre-Order!
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
Like a lot of the answers I will give, there is a lot of back story! I feel like I have lived several different lives. I grew up in Central California near Monterey. My grandparents started a family business in Seaside, where my grandpa had been stationed while in the Navy. I went to college outside St. Louis, and law school in Chicago. I helped form a rock band in Chicago called Vintage Blue, and lived there for over 10 years. When I started pursuing music full time I left Chicago for Madison, Wisconsin. For the past four years, I have been in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I love it so much here. My style of music is just as varied. I jokingly refer to my musical background as a result of the “Columbia House generation” where you would get like 20 CDs for $1. In my family those twenty CDs would run from Jazz to Grunge, and Funk to Hard Rock. I was raised on a little bit of everything, and I like to think that you can hear some of all of that in what I write.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
I have always always been interested in music, and since being a freshman in high school I played in one band or another. My step-father had an advanced degree in music and could play anything by ear. While he may not be in my life anymore, he is a big part of why I got into learning piano and guitar. The other reason is my mother and grandma. They both love and loved music so much. My grandma always had a lyric for anything, and my Mom always has music on in the house. When I left for law school in Chicago, I was on a path for the “normal” life. I was living with a college girlfriend, and felt like things were kind of laid out for me. As law school came to an end things changed. At a graduation party I met a guy named Seth Howard who was putting a cover band together. He told me that they already had guitarists, so I brought in a cheap keyboard I had at home and became a keys player, then learned to play bass for some songs. Then over a couple years the band changed, and I moved to rhythm guitar and some background vocals. When we went to make our first professional recording I moved to lead guitar and vocals, as we became Vintage Blue.
Our band had some big successes, including some radio campaigns and great opening gigs, but we eventually broke up in 2015. I felt I had so much more music left in me, so I decided to give performing solo a shot. I began writing for a solo album. I would work 70-80 hour weeks, then go on weekend tours to play at house concerts and venues around the country. I fell in love with road tripping and seeing the country and playing music for friends. At the most basic level, I felt appreciated. In 2016 I decided to pursue music full time. I released my debut record, and determined to give full time touring a shot that summer. While I have gone through some serious struggles, both mentally and financially, I have stayed determined to find a way to continue making music, and doing what I love.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
I know it is 2022, but I still believe in THE ALBUM! I believe in creating a cohesive piece of art, that has a vision or a story, and each song is a part of that. My two prior albums have had overarching themes that followed my music journey. My first album These Dreams, was an album written while I was dreaming about hitting the road. The majority of the songs talk about the hopes I had associated with starting a music career, and a few about the struggles of transitioning into that life. My second record, Words For Yesterday, was about the challenges I faced a couple years into pursuing my dreams. It dealt with lost relationships, with being burned by friends, and also with finding love when you are always on the move.
On this album, What You Believe, I set out to find my own voice. I decided to produce the album myself. Every note, every chord change, and every lyric were my creative decision. The songs on this EP retrospectively address the ideas from the first two albums, in the context of the realities of current events in my life and in the world. Because we were locked in quarantine, some songs went through several iterations and major changes before they found the voice I wanted. Overall, this album is the core of my songwriting, to write about the serious things we all deal with in real life, but to keep the message just open enough that listeners can adapt the message and connect it with their own experience.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
I think the challenge is ongoing. We are all still trying to figure out our existence in this world. I watched my largest international tour ever fall apart in 2020. I had over 120 shows cancelled on a four month tour of 33 states and 10 European countries. I was so upset, confused, and scared. It was a rough time. I went through it all too. I tried online shows, streaming concerts, Patreon, etc. Eventually I turned to my phone. Over the years on the road I had been saving song notes, lyrics, and guitar ideas. I started putting them into tracks one by one, building out songs on my computer. I decided I was going to learn to engineer my own records. I used some SBA funding from the government, and a grant from Musicares to help purchase home studio gear. I took classes on mics, mic placement, recording techniques, and mixing. I mixed my first project for my girlfriend Amanda Kay, who also writes some in her spare time. That first song was an eclectic collection of tracks on old microphones, new microphones, and a mish mash of techniques. It was all part of a learning process. (If you want, you can find the track, called “Eclipse” on her band camp. Just search Amanda Kay). I went on to spend the following months tracking my own album, and doing SO MANY mixes in an effort to hone my technique and workflow. I owe credit to local artists Jay Nash, Jimmy Deveney, and Lucky Mays for their input on those initial mixes.
As for now, if I told you things were getting back to normal I’d be lying. I am still finding it hard to navigate booking tours as I head out on the road to promote this album. I just saw three separate tours cancelled by major artists in the past couple weeks. But we just keep pressing on. We’ll get through this.
What was the last song you listened to?
In all honesty, I am writing this with the Super Bowl on in the background, so I am bopping my head to some old school Dr. Dre and Snoop! Ha. However, the last complete track I listened to was a Chris Stapleton song called Maggie’s Song. I am a big fan of Chris’ voice, and his was the last big concert I saw in Albuquerque. I was just listening through his record and that song came on and left me in tears. If you know, you know. But having lost our pup last year, it was a rough listen that wrecked me. Listen at your own risk.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
OH MAN! First, I am so lucky that my Grandma left me her hifi system and record player. We incorporated into our living room setup, and nothing sounds as good as a properly mastered vinyl album. We were lucky enough to put one of our Vintage Blue records on vinyl, and that was so cool. They can be very expensive to make well, although more companies are turning to vinyl and prices are coming down a little, so maybe soon!
Also, had to tell a little story on this. My grandparents bought a houseboat back in the 80s. By the time I started listening to music heavily I realized the only sound system on the boat was an 8-track. I committed to finding a way to listen to my CDs on that player. So we connected a CD to tape converter, then a tape to 8-track. I would never recommend that setup. It was about the worst thing I have ever heard, but at least we had our Sublime that summer. LOL.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
Everybody has their favorite platform, so I do my best to be active on most of them. That means Twitter, Insta, TikTok, FB, and Youtube. I use Instagram the most, but also consistently post and go live from FB, and will be getting into live multicasts from Twitch and Youtube as well this year. Also, I do have a Patreon as well, for folks that are into behind-the-scenes videos and stories, and connecting in a more meaningful way.
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
I appreciate you! I chose to pursue music because of the connections I have made on this journey. I enjoy hearing from people, and welcome the opportunity to have my music heard by a wider audience. I look forward to hopefully seeing some of you on the road this Summer as I play all over the U.S. in support of this record!
